Shui Bing'er!

At the same time.

On the edge of the Far North, there lay a desolate ice valley blanketed in deep snow.

A fierce and brutal battle was currently erupting within the valley.

Shrill, mournful roars echoed through the heavens.

It was a massive, thousand-year-old Soul-Eater Python.

Its colossal body, covered in pitch-black scales, thrashed wildly across the snow, each struggle sending clouds of ice into the air.

But the Soul-Eater Python was already at the end of its rope.

Its body was covered in crisscrossing wounds that cut deep to the bone, and dark green blood stained the white snow in mottled, unsightly patches.

The giant, swaying snake head flickered its tongue frantically, making a final, dying struggle.

Surrounding the Soul-Eater Python were two distinct groups.

Positioned further back on the perimeter was a group of fierce-looking mercenaries wielding heavy weapons.

Most of them bore scars on their faces and reeked of a thick, bloody stench, their eyes darting toward the group in front from time to time.

In the core combat zone closer to the beast was a group of young women dressed in uniform attire.

This was the team of students and teachers from Skywater Academy out for field training.

At the very front of the formation, a girl of about fourteen years old was particularly eye-catching.

She wore her water-blue hair short, letting it dance lightly in the wind.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her skin glowing with a rosy, fair complexion.

Though she was still young, her tight combat suit could barely conceal her budding, graceful figure, giving her an air of both purity and cuteness.

It was Shui Bing'er.

The team leader, Shui Lanxin, stood not far away.

She wore a form-fitting blue dress that seemed ready to burst from her proud bosom, perfectly outlining her stunning S-curve.

Below the hem of her dress, a pair of long, straight, beautiful legs were wrapped in tight blue fabric, her entire being radiating the lethal, pulse-pounding allure of a mature woman.

Shui Lanxin kept her eyes locked on the battlefield, her voice crisp and melodious.

"Bing'er."

"It's almost finished; deliver the final blow!"

Shui Bing'er let out a soft cry, her footwork becoming incredibly nimble.

She soared into the air, her hands moving rapidly to form seals.

An icicle of extreme cold formed instantly in mid-air, piercing the skull of the Soul-Eater Python with a sharp, whistling sound and pinpoint accuracy.

Bang!

The massive body of the Soul-Eater Python slammed heavily into the ground, falling silent.

A purple spirit ring slowly emerged from above the corpse.

Shui Bing'er had successfully obtained her fourth spirit ring.

However, at that very moment, an unexpected change occurred.

As the corpse of the Soul-Eater Python shattered, a crystal-clear bone emitting a faint purple light rolled out from the flesh and blood, lying quietly on the snow.

It had actually dropped a spirit bone!

The mercenaries standing on the perimeter went wide-eyed the moment they saw the bone.

Greedy bloodshot veins instantly crawled across their eyeballs.

"Boss, look!"

"That's a spirit bone, a thousand-year-level spirit bone!"

A thin mercenary leaned into the ear of the burly leader, his voice trembling.

"If we take that to the black market, it'll be worth a fortune—enough for us brothers to live in luxury for the rest of our lives!"

The other mercenaries also drew their weapons, their eyes turning incredibly greedy.

"Boss, why don't we do it?"

"Let's just rob them!"

Some in the group seemed a bit wary.

"But they're from Skywater Academy; can we really afford to offend them?"

The leader spat a glob of bloody saliva onto the ground, a fierce light flaring in his eyes.

"To hell with that!"

"Out here in this frozen wasteland, as long as we kill them all, who will know it was us?"

The leader's gaze drifted past Shui Bing'er, roaming unscrupulously over Shui Lanxin's voluptuous body.

"Besides."

"I've been craving that big-breasted teacher for a long time!"

"Later, let the brothers have some real fun!"

Although the mercenary group kept their whispers low, the undisguised malice spread like a physical presence.

They formed a semi-circle, slowly closing in on the Skywater Academy team.

Shui Lanxin had led teams abroad for years and possessed extremely rich combat experience.

She sensed the unmasked greed and killing intent behind her almost instantly.

Shui Lanxin turned around, her wavy hair fluttering in the wind.

She shielded Shui Bing'er behind her, her willow-leaf brows arched, her beautiful face covered in frost.

Her shapely legs parted slightly as she assumed a defensive stance.

"What do you want?"

Shui Lanxin shouted sharply, her soul power beginning to surge violently.

Hearing this interrogation, the mercenary leader let his bloodshot eyes roam wantonly over Shui Lanxin's voluptuous figure.

"What do we want?"

"We've been pent up in this frozen wasteland for so long, what do you think we want?"

The leader licked his cracked lips with his tongue, his eyes filled with undisguised lewdness.

The surrounding mercenaries erupted into lewd laughter upon hearing their leader's words.

Shui Lanxin gritted her teeth, her stomach churning, and she turned her head to spit onto the snow.

"Pah!"

"A bunch of disgusting scum!"

She feigned composure on the surface, but her heart was filled with extreme anxiety.

To ensure the success of this training expedition in the Far North, Skywater Academy had allocated a large sum of money.

This massive payment was used to hire this mercenary group, which operated on the outskirts of the Far North year-round.

They had hoped to use the mercenaries' experience to scout the path and avoid unnecessary trouble.

Who could have guessed that these people would take the money and turn out to be shameless scoundrels who would covet their wealth?

The mercenary leader's face darkened instantly upon hearing Shui Lanxin's curse.

He gripped the blood-stained broadsword in his hand tightly and slammed it heavily against the ground.

"You bitch, don't be ungrateful!"

"Hand over that thousand-year soul bone obediently!"

"Then take those little girls behind you and serve us masters well."

"As long as you keep us brothers happy, we might spare your lives today and save you from some physical suffering!"

Shui Lanxin trembled with rage, her wavy hair whipping violently in the cold wind.

"In your dreams!"

"Skywater Academy will never bow to the likes of you!"

A fierce light erupted in the leader's eyes as his patience ran out.

"If you won't drink the toast, you'll drink the forfeit!"

"Brothers, get them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, over a dozen mercenaries unleashed their soul power simultaneously, and colorful soul rings instantly illuminated the desolate ice valley.

Waving their weapons, they charged toward the Skywater Academy team like starving wolves.

Shui Lanxin let out a sharp cry as six soul rings rose beneath her feet.

Two yellow, two purple, and two black lights shimmered in harmony as she struck out with a palm toward the mercenary charging at the front.

The students of Skywater Academy also released their martial souls, and various water and ice-type soul skills bloomed across the snowy ground.

Although the soul skills of Skywater Academy were exquisite, they had just finished a grueling battle against a thousand-year Soul-Eater Python, and their soul power was already mostly depleted.

In contrast, the mercenaries had been watching from the sidelines and were currently at their peak state.

Coupled with their numerical superiority, their attacks were ruthless and lethal, clearly intended to kill.

Within just a few exchanges, the defensive line of Skywater Academy began to collapse completely.